FIA World Rallycross heads ‘home’ to Lydden Hill

Thursday 22 May 2014

The FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy visits the home of rallycross – Lydden Hill – this weekend for the second event of the inaugural world championship season, as the circuit welcomes a truly international list of drivers all competing on Cooper tyres.

An exciting season opener at Montalegre in Portugal earlier this month saw former FIA World Rally Champion, Petter Solberg, take the spoils in the SuperCar final.Fastest in all bar one of his races, Solberg beat Andreas Bakkerud to victory by just under four tenths of a second in the final event of the weekend to leave the Portuguese venue with a five-point lead in the championship standings.

Some of the usual high scorers – the likes of Liam Doran and Timmy Hansen – missed out on strong results at Montalegre so they will be looking to make up for lost time and gain some big points at the Kent venue this weekend.

The upcoming round is a particularly special one, as a host of top names join the championship this weekend, which also makes the start of the FIA European Rallycross Championship.

Noteworthy entrants include American Top Gear presenter, Tanner Foust, who will be looking to defend his Lydden crown this weekend and reigning British Touring Car Champion, Andrew Jordan, who will contest the Lydden Hill round as a wild card entrant, having started his racing career in the discipline.In total, there will be no fewer than 24 nationalities competing over the weekend, with drivers from Colombia, Russia, Europe and the USA all taking to the track on Cooper tyres, which have proven their superiority in the rallycross discipline over several decades.

The quality of the Cooper rallycross tyre, which is specifically designed for the very unique demands of rallycross – a fusion of gravel and asphalt racing – was underlined when Cooper Tire Europe was selected as sole tyre supplier to the all-new FIA World Rallycross Championship in a multi-year deal.Marketing Communications Manager for Cooper Tire Europe, Sarah McRoberts, explained what is so special about Lydden Hill: “Lydden is really where it all began – rallycross was born there back in the 1960s and, as a sport, it has come a very long way since then. One thing that hasn’t changed is the sheer excitement of rallycross – it’s a fast and furious sport that provides a fantastic spectacle from start to finish. It really will be something special to see Lydden host its first World Championship round.”

The second meeting of the FIA World Rallycross Championship roars into action at Lydden Hill circuit in Kent over the weekend of May 24-25.